The UN Sustainable Development Goals

We support the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and believe that the VELUX Group can positively influence the realisation of several of the goals.

Through careful assessment of each of the goals, we have determined what matters most to us as a company and where we can make our unique contribution to support the realisation of the goals.

Our contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Good health and well-being

In the developed world, people spend up to 90% of their time inside buildings. In Europe alone, some 84 million people live in damp and unhealthy buildings, exposed to risks of developing asthma and allergies. 30 million people suffer from lack of daylight. In the light of the serious problems caused by unhealthy buildings, action is needed to find ways to improve living conditions in buildings.

Creating healthy and comfortable indoor living environments is at the core of the VELUX business. With our products, we contribute to bright and healthy buildings for people to live, work, learn and play in. As a founding partner of the Active House Alliance, we explore new building concepts that combine healthy and comfortable buildings with care for the environment. By publishing the Healthy Home Barometer once a year, we provide new knowledge on smart and healthy buildings to home owners, legislators and to the building community.

Affordable and clean energy

In Europe, buildings account for 40% of all energy consumption. All VELUX roof windows and accessories are carefully designed to minimise the heat loss and maximise the solar heat gain through the pane.

Through a series of building experiments, we have demonstrated that it is possible to comply with the EU 2020 Energy Strategy with existing technologies and without compromising people’s health and well-being.

All VELUX production and warehouse sites are certified according to ISO 50001 energy management. We continuously invest in energy efficiency projects and the use of renewables at our sites.

Sustainable cities and communities

The UN expects that almost 60% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2030. The rapid urbanisation calls for new approaches to urban planning and densification in order to make urban areas safe, healthy and sustainable.

VELUX products are part of the solution to creating sustainable cities and communities. Energy efficiency and access to daylight and a good indoor climate are important elements in ensuring affordable, healthy and sustainable housing for the millions of people who live in cities.

We create and share know-how and invest in building experiments that can inspire cities and communities to create better living environments. One example is the affordable and sustainable renovation approach developed and tested in the RenovActive model home. The concept was designed to be easily scalable, replicable and feasible within social housing renovation budgets.

Responsible consumption and production

The VELUX Group pursues a safety vision of zero work-related injuries. All our manufacturing sites sustain OHSAS 18001 certification and we reinforce a strong health and safety culture with an unrelenting focus on safety risk management and leadership engagement.

We carefully manage the environmental footprint of our activities. All our production and warehouse sites are certified according to ISO 14001 environmental management. We aim at zero-waste in our production and document the environmental impact of our products through Life Cycle Assessments. 97% of the waste from our production is reused in other types of products or used for heat production. 99,5% of the wood used in our production in Europe is sourced from certified, sustainable forests.

It is estimated that housing accounts for up to 50% of all material use in Europe. Resource efficiency is one of the key targets in our production, for instance we continuously optimise the use of wood.

Partnerships for the goals

The realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals depends on a strong commitment to partnership and cooperation at all levels and across public-private sectors.

At the VELUX Group, we collaborate with governmental institutions, the building community, NGOs, end-users and the broader civil society to enhance the development of affordable, healthy and sustainable buildings.

We are a founding partner of the Active House Alliance, which brings together some of the world’s leading manufacturers, consultancies and research institutions. The ambition for the Alliance is – in the common interest of its members – to create a viable, independent and internationally influential alliance for affordable, healthy and sustainable buildings.

The VELUX Group is 100% owned by VKR Holding. A large share of the profits of VKR Holding is returned to society by the VELUX FOUNDATIONS, which support scientific, environmental, social and cultural purposes in Denmark and abroad. The foundations operate independently from VKR Holding and its companies.